On March 14, 2023, EFE held its annual pitch competition inviting teams from across the Network to present an innovative idea for a chance to win the Velaj Foundation Innovation Award. Five finalists pitched ideas tackling a wide range of topics from communications to alumni engagement and monitoring and evaluation.

This year’s first-prize winners are the EFE x Videos for Change team. Through a partnership with Videos for Change, they will support the enhancement and modernization of EFE’s student-centered pedagogy and empower youth to become advocates for issues that impact their daily lives – through the creation of storytelling videos. In turn, the EFE Network will authentically communicate youth issues by amplifying their voices. This will prepare participants with essential digital skills for the modern workforce and transform EFE's online presence to be more authentic and youthful.

The second prize winners are the Cracking Pathways to a Job Programming team who will run a randomized control trial (RCT), in which different classes will have different characteristics (treatments). The implementing team will vary the attributes of the candidates selected, the class modules, and the hours of training, one change at a time, to be able to understand the effects of these variations on the outcomes of the program, ultimately improving the program for optimal impact on participants.

Thanks to the Velaj Foundation for their support, and for encouraging innovation to further EFE’s mission.

Stay tuned for updates on the winning projects!

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